Compressor intake valve



Dec. 25, 1962 H. R. wEATHr-:RHEAD ETAL 3,070,122

COMPRESSOR INTAKE VALVE Filed April 4, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet l il, /4 j i if -T M) ,74 L/f Dec. 25, 1962 Filed April 4, 1960 H. R. WEATHERHEAD ETAL COMPRESSOR INTAKE VALVE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent @ffice h'iig? Patented Dec. 25, i962 3,070,122 CMPRESSR INTAKE VALVE Herman R. Weatherhead, Dayton, and Earl K. Butler,

Xenia, hio, assignors to Chrysler Corporation, Highland Parli, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 4, 19nd, Ser. No. 19,672 Claims. (Cl. 137-525) This invention relates to improvements in compressor valve structures, and in particular to improvements in the suction or intake valves of reciprocating piston type gas compressors.

Heretofore, single annular disc shaped suction valves have been employed in reciprocating compressors, but, the single disc has not proven entirely satisfactory from the standpoint of having suiiicient ilexibility to completely open the intake port while possessing required fatigue strength. Also, under operating conditions of slugging wherein the compressor cylinders containlarge quantities of liquid such as oil, the force uponthe suction valve disc on the compression stroke is produced by incompressible hydraulic means rather than merely by the compressed refrigerant gas and a single valve `disc is frequently broken by this unnatural pressure. Moreover, the single suction valve disc has occasionally been subjected to such high suction pressures that it has been forced out of its guide and down into the compressor cylinder.

lt is a principal object of this invention, therefore, to provide a suction valve assembly having two distinct ilexibility ranges which can adequately provide gas passage to the cylinder under any operational suction pressures without being subject to the possible aforementioned fatiguing, improper flexing, removal of the suction dise from its guide, and breaking due to slugging A further object is to provide a novel valve guide construction which is designed to support the abovementioned suction valve disc and stop disc in a predetermined physical relationship throughout all of the operational suction pressures of the compressor.

A further object is to provide a simple, inexpensive, easily serviceable, and structurally sound intake valve assembly for a piston type gas compressor, wherein said assembly comprises a minimum number of moving parts which move through minimum distances to perform their function.

These objects are accomplished in the present invention by the provision of a suction valve stop means or disc supportedat a predetermined distance from the suction valve discV and adapted to be engaged thereby at a predetermined ilexing of said suction valve. For the support of these discs a novel guide means is provided with two pairs of shoulders, each pair being peripherally and axially displaced on said guide means from the other pair, and one pair being adapted to support the suction valve disc and the other pair the stop disc. The stop disc being in itself flexible will resiliently resist movement of the suction valve disc away from its seat after the above predetermined suction valve disc flexing is attained. As the pressure differential across the inlet port increases and tends to llex the inlet valve disc beyond this predetermined degree, an ever increasing area of the suction valve disc will be resistantly supported by the stop disc and in this manner fatiguing of the suction valve disc due to unnatural flexing thereof, andthe removal of the suction disc from its support in the guide means will be avoided.

The particular construction and shape of the discs hereinafter shown and described represents the experimentally determined optimum shape and arrangement thereof for a particular set of compressor operating characteristics. It is noted, however, that slight variations in the shape of the discs and guide means, and in their relative positions can obviously be made without deviating from the scope of applicants invention.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 represents a top view, partly broken away, of the intake valve assembly of the present invention;

FGURE 2 represents a cross-sectional view of the assembly of FIGURE l taken along the line 22 thereof in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 3 represents a cross-sectional view of the valve guide means of FIGURE 1 taken along the line corresponding to 3*?) thereof in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 4 represents a partial, sectional view of a compressor cylinder including an intake valve assembly embodying the invention;

FIGURE 5 represents a top plan view of the intake valve disc;

FIGURE 6 represents a top plan view of the stop disc;

FIGURE 7 represents a cross-sectional exaggerated view corresponding to FIGURE 2 of the intake valve disc and stop disc making initial contact; and

FIGURE 8 represents the discs of FIGURE 7 in their exaggerated full flexed positions.

Referring to the drawings, a suction valve guide it) is provided with a bore l2 and two pairs of shoulders, one pair i4 being the support for the intake valve disc 18 and the other pair i6 adapted to support the stop disc 24. The suction valve disc i8 shown in FIGURE 5 is provided with a pair of oppositely disposed projections Ztl adapted to rest on shoulders i4 which are given a slightly arcuate contour as shown in FIGURE 2 so as to conform with the curvature which the projections 26 will take as the opposite edge portions 22 of the suction valve disc are flexed downwardly in FlGURE 2. Also, shoulders 14 are given a slightly downward slant toward the interior of the bore i2 to conform to the general tendency of the suction valve disc to assume a dish shape when forced downwardly.

The stop ring or disc 24 shown in FIGURE 6 is provided with a pair of oppositely disposed projections 26 which are adapted to rest on the slightly downwardly slanting shoulders i6 in the guide l0. The surface area of discs 1S and 24 are approximately the same and it is noted that when the intake disc i8 is dexed suiciently downwardly substantial portions thereof will come to bear on and become supported by the disc 24. Each of these discs is conveniently made from a highly resilient material such as spring steel.

In the use of this suction valve arrangement, shown for example in FiGURE 4 wherein a partial, crosssectional view of a compressor cylinder and valve arrangement is shown, the valve guide it? is shown positioned in the top of a cylinder but may also be formed integrally from the cylinder itself rather than as a separate ring. A suction and discharge valve unit 311 provides the annular air inlet port 32 comprised of seat portions 7 and 29, and the annular air outlet or discharge port 34 comprised of seat portions 3i and 33. This unit Elli consists of the valve seat block 36 and a discharge valve retaining spider 3S secured together by means of rivet studs 4d and 4Z. A plurality of volute springs dei are provided in spider 38 to resiliently urge discharge valve 46 to its closed position. The discharge port 34 opens into the main discharge manifold 48 by means of which the compressed gas may be delivered to any desirable portion of a refrigeration or any pressurized system. This form of discharge valve for piston type compressors is conventional as shown in Patent 2,185,473.

In the operation of the compressor, it is seen from a FIGURE 4 that ythe piston 50 is secured to a connecting rod 51 by a wrist pin 52 and as the piston 5t) is pulled downwardly, the discharge valve 46 will close the discharge port 34 and the pressure differential thereby created across the intake port 32 will cause stop disc 24 and suction valve disc 18 to seat on their respective shoulders 16 and 14. As the piston progresses downwardly, disc 1S will dex downwardly due to said pressure differential until .the portions 22 thereof engage disc 24 adjacent the projections 26 thereof as seen in FiGURE 7. It is seen, therefore, that further increases in the pressure ditferential across intake port 32 will cause both the valve disc 18 and the stop 24 to flex downwardly together (see FIGURE 8) butto much less degree, however, since the exibility of the now double thickness disc is much less .than that of the single disc 18. The desirable degree of flexing of disc 18 away from its annular seat adjacent intake port 32 can be achieved by a proper co-mbination of properly chosen disc shapes and liexibilities.

We claim:

1. ln a valve assembly for use in controlling the flow of gases to and from the cylinders of reciprocating type compressors and the like and having an annular valve seat defining a gas passage opening, a resilient annular valve disc adapted to be moved tightly against said valve seat to prevent gas flow through said opening, valve disc guide means having a bore for receiving said valve disc and for restricting the lateral movement of said disc with respect to said seat, shoulder means on either side of said bore for engaging and limiting .movement of some portions `of said disc taway from said seat while allowing considerable fiexing of other portions of said disc aW-ay from said seat, and resilient stop means spaced from said shoulder means for engaging portions of said disc at a predetermined flexing thereof and thereafter resiliently resisting further exing of said other portions of said disc Iaway from said seat.

2. In a valve assembly for use in controlling the flow or `gases to and from the cylinders of reciprocating type compressors and the like and having an annular valve seat dening la gas passage opening, la resilient annular valve disc adapted to be moved tightly against said valve seat to prevent gas flow through said opening, valve disc guide means having a bore for receiving said valve disc and for restricting the movement of said disc with respect to said seat, shoulder means on either side of said bore for engaging and limiting movement of oppositely disposed portions of said disc away from said seat while allowing considerable flexing of other portions of said disc away from said scat, and resilient stop means spaced from said shoulder means for engaging said other portions of said disc at a predetermined flexing thereof and thereafter resiliently resisting further flexing of said disc away from said seat, said stop means being adapted to contact an increasing `area of said disc as said disc is exed away from said seat with increasing force.

3. ln a valve assembly for use in controlling the ow of gases to and from the cylinders of recipro-cating type compressors and the like and having an annular valve seat defining a gas passage opening, a resilient valve disc 60 adapted to be moved tightly against said valve seat to prevent `gas flow through said opening, valve disc guide means for restricting the movement of said disc with respect to said seat, shoulder means on said guide means for engaging portions of said disc and limiting its movement away from said seat while allowing considerable flexing thereof, and resilient Iannular stop means in said Aguide means spaced from said shoulder means for engaging portions of said disc at -a predetermined exing thereof land thereafter resiliently resisting further liexing of said disc away from said seat, said stop means having peripheral portions suspended on second shoulder means on said guide means.

4. In a valve assembly for use in controlling the How of gases to and from the cylinders of reciprocating type compressors and the like and having an annular valve seat dening a gas passage opening, a resilient valve disc adapted to be moved tightly against said valve seat to prevent gas tiow through said opening, valve disc guide means for restricting -the movement of said disc with respect to said scart, shoulder means of said guide means for engaging portions of said disc and limiting its movement away from said seat while allowing considerable flexing thereof, and resilient annular stop means in said guide means spaced from said shoulder means for engaging portions of said disc at a predetermined flexing thereof and thereafter resiliently resisting further flexing of said disc away from said seat, said stop means having peripheral portions suspended on second shoulder means on said guide means, said second shoulder means being periphenally offset from said first shoulder means.

5. A valve assembly for use in compressors and the like comprising a valve body having an annular port and a face d;ning a valve seat in close proximity to the above mentioned port, a valve for controlling the passage of gas through such port, said valve including a guide member defining a central cavity and first and second co-axial; resilient flat valve rings positioned in an unstressed condition one above the other in slightly spaced relationship in the central cavity with said first valve ring in abutting relationship with the above mentioned valve seat, said guide member and said rings further including cooperating parts adapted to restrict rotation of said rings in said guide member and to limit the maximum, deflection of said rings away from the above mentioned valve seat in response to admission of gas through the above mentioned port so that the initial entrance of gas and deflection of said first valve ring away from said valve seat is opposed only by the resilience of the irst valve ring until said rings contact and subsequent deection of said rst valve ring is opposed by the combined resilience of said first and second valve rings.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,227,759 Dayv May 29, 1917 2,690,763 Seligman Oct. 5, 1954 2,728,351 Cooper Dec. 27, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 678.570 Germany July 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE 0E CORRECTION Patent Noo 3,070122 December 25, 1962 Hermann R., Weatherhead et al It is hez'eb5r certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 4, line 20, for "of" read -w on Signed and sealed this 6th day of August 1962,

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST w. SWIDER DAVID L- LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

